Caesar and Napoli, P.C., a New York law firm, has selected an outstanding student as the winner of its Caesar and Napoli, P.C. Scholarship. The winner is Andy Tan from Columbia University School of Law.

The firm launched its scholarship program in 2021 to support Asian American students in their pursuit of higher education. 

The firm’s ties to the Asian American community dates back to its founding in 1990. Ever since, the firm has been committed to serving the community.

“C&N has been representing the interest of the Asian American community since 1990. This was a time when waves of Asian immigrants were arriving into New York City. They were subject to prejudice, criminal acts and treated as ‘others.’ They were not accepted into society. This young community did not have the support groups necessary to assist them to assimilate into society. They could not speak the language, and they did not know the laws. As a result, they were victims of scams, taken advantage of by predatory lenders, landlords, employers and even lawyers who provided subpar services, at best. My promise to the community when I started my firm was that they would be treated with the best quality legal services we could provide and that our firm would always deal in honesty and respect with all our clients. I believe that I have lived up to this promise,” said James Napoli, the firm’s founding partner. 

“I now see the next generation and they have shown that they can compete equally and often better than their peers. Sometimes all they need is a helping hand. That is what we are doing here,” he added.

Asian American college students have the highest average unmet financial need of any ethnic group. Seventy-nine percent of Asian American students cannot pay the full cost of college, and low-income Asian American students face an average of $16,756 of unmet financial needs.

The firm intends to continue its support of Asian American students. In 2022, the firm will award two scholarships in the amount of $2,500 each. 

“Andy Tan, our inaugural winner, was so impressive that it showed me how much we can help the community by having this scholarship fund. If we can help two young people this year, even better,” said Napoli.

“I hope that I am in a position to keep this scholarship growing every year,” he added.